This page contains a selection of items that you can collect quite cheaply by carefully looking in charity shops; car boot sales; flea markets; jumble sales etc.

There is no need to pay a lot of money for any items, but the more scarce the item is, such as Goss china lighthouses, or the more important the item is in relation to lighthouse artifacts, such as an old hand pump fog horn, then the more expensive it will be.

Alternatively, why not collect modern items. There are now plenty of companies that make model scale lighthouses and other curios that will suit your pocket.

What ever you decide to collect please do not become too obsessive otherwise you will never have enough room to display them. Why not just settle for one theme.

Most of the items on this page cost from a few pence to a pound; and some cost no more than a few pounds. There are no items of real value in this collection.

These two breakwater lights were made between 1958 and 1964 by Tri-ang for the 'Minic' series. For the enthusiast the breakwater is part number M827; the circular lighthouse base M829; the left hand model is a harbour light whilst the right hand one is a lighthouse. They come from the Tri-ang 'Ships' set which was 1 in 1200 waterline die cast. The boxed set included a swing bridge, custom sheds, warehouses, lighthouses, lock gates, oil tanks amongst other items.

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This small painted galvanised lighthouse has an open back into which spills were placed. We had a similar object when I was a boy and it was placed in the hearth by the open fire. Smokers would take a thin wooden spill from the holder, in this case the lighthouse holder, and place into the embers of the fire. Once alight they would light their cigarette, extinguish the spill and return it back to the holder for future use.

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These three glass lighthouses contain the coloured sands found at Alum Bay, Isle of Wight. They still make them today but not in the various shapes of these old ones. If you buy one do remember to carry it home carefully and upright otherwise you will find that all your coloured bands of sands will have mingled.

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None of these china lighthouses are made by Goss. They all made by the other lesser well known companies and are cheaper imitations of Goss. You can see a definitive list of Goss china model lighthouses with photos here.

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This biscuit tin was made for W & R Jacob & Co. Ltd probably by the well known biscuit and sweet tin box manufacturer, Huntley, Bourne and Stevens at Reading, Berkshire.

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Here is a small selection of scale model lighthouses currently in production. There are probably more models in current production than you can cope with especially if you are interested in overseas lighthouses.

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These Cornish serpentine model lighthouses come in all shapes and sizes and the larger they are then the more expensive they will prove to be. They are still made today at the Lizard by the same families that made them three generations ago. Serpentine rock is becoming a scarce resource and is only quarried by those who have inherited the 'commoners rights' to a particular source, which is kept a closely guarded secret. Any local craftsman will be able to not only date your model but also tell where it was quarried just by the colour and pattern of the rock. Usually they are models of rock lighthouses turned in exactly the same pattern as 100 years ago. Find out more about Serpentine Lighthouses

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These may look like Cornish serpentine but they are not. The 3 on the left are imported and made from marble and turned in a traditional design. Nevertheless they are very colourful with the veins of colours running through them and, what is more, they are relatively cheap. The one on the right is made of soapstone, could be imported, but turned to a traditional design. It can be removed from its rock base.

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This nice lamp is made of the Cornish serpentine rock with the a light in the lantern room.

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The lamp on the left is also made of Cornish serpentine rock and shaped like a rock lighthouse but has no in built lantern light. The lamp on the right is carved from wood and is ready for restoration.

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These thimbles come in all shapes and sizes. The picture on the left shows the traditional collectors china ones and one pottery one but the right hand picture shows one is made of pewter with a detachable lantern to show a piece of cut glass representing the light.

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Here is a selection of china and pottery models. None have any practical use except the ash tray on the far right.

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Another selection of lighthouse ornaments with no practical use, although there is a tea light candle burner second from the left, and some light switch pulls, plus a modern small brass lighthouse key ring which flashes. The tall wooden lighthouse has Great Yarmouth 1956 inscribed on the base.

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Now if its light pulls that you are after then you will find plenty of varieties following the theme of this china light pull.

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This nice small china urn has the old demolished Hoylake lighthouse on it while the beaker has the Longships on it and the small round tin bears the name 'Basilicon Ointment "Safety" Brand'. I have no idea what the ointment was used for - I hope that it was not used for anything too embarrassing.

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The bowling club badges are easy to find but the little necklace Longships lighthouse charm and Longships paper weight were not.

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Can you see the lighthouse on this old coin ?. In 1859, the Royal Mint commissioned Leonard Charles Wyon to design new coinage, with a new portrait of Queen Victoria, and to celebrate the centenary of the Eddystone Lighthouse built by John Smeaton, showing the lighthouse and a ship either side of Britannia. Leonard was the son of William Wyon, designer of the Wyon Medal, used as the design for the first postage stamp, the Penny Black. Leonard was unable to visit the Eddystone and is supposed to have used the lighthouse at Shoreham near where he was living as a model. The first coins, a farthing, halfpenny and penny, showing the lighthouse where minted in 1860, and the lighthouse remained on the three coins until 1894. However, a new lighthouse design, showing the 1882 Eddystone was introduced in 1937 on the pennies minted for George VI, and remained on the penny until decimalisation in 1971.

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These Trinity House Keeper and Trinity House Pilot jacket buttons are genuine. As there were thousands of uniforms and each uniform had lots of buttons then there are plenty around.

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These were advertised on eBay as 'very old Northen Lighthouse Board buttons'. They may well be.

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This bulb is a souvenir of an official visit to Whitby High lighthouse on Ling Hill in Yorkshire and shone the light for a range of 23 miles. You will have to make your own holder for it otherwise it will roll off your display and fall to the floor with the usual disastrous consequences.

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Why not collect jigsaws, books or cardboard models. This picture of the Lundy light is a large book containing a ready to cut out and assemble cardboard scale model of the lighthouse, but you can find jigsaws with lighthouses on them. If its books that you like then have a look at the selection in the Virtual library. Perhaps you like old post cards like the one of Bishop Rock. They can be expensive if they are of the rarer lights but you should have fun searching for old post cards of the more common lighthouses.

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This lovely little combined lighthouse table cigarette lighter and ashtray would have graced any gentleman's lounge in the 1950s. The nickel plated detachable lighthouse is set in an onyx marble rock, which in turn rests upon an onyx marble sea, and adjacent is a serpentine stone ashtray. The hinged lantern room in the lighthouse conceals a traditional flint operated cigarette lighter fuelled by lighter petroleum drawn by a wick from a store in the base of the tower. There is a collection of more Lighthouse Cigarette Lighters here.

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This poor Teddy bear wearing his lighthouse T shirt was unloved and the last of a batch waiting for a new home when I found him.

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These crested Longships Lighthouse spoons were in a junk shop in Yorkshire a very long way from home just waiting to be repatriated. The middle one is the Bishop Rock lighthouse at the Isles of Scilly. The far right one the same but with a helicopter pad - must be a relatively new one.

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These are modern seaside souvenirs - lighthouses in a snow storm, and the snow storm is still raging in the right hand one. In the middle is a pencil sharpener.

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The pin tray with Longships on it is not very old despite the old style engraving and the watering can was brand new for my birthday.

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And finally, here is something for everyone - modern lighthouse salt and pepper pots and 'fridge magnets.

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